canon au } { post-502, of hidden talents and being free

[hereditare]

Liam: So what. you trying to test me? Is that what that was?

Derek: [confused] What are you talking about?

Liam: Like you don't know. Chasing me and Mason halfway through the school wasn't funny!

Dawn: [blinks some more]

Laura: [teasing] How many times have I told you, Derek, the sophomores aren't toys.

Derek: I swear I have no idea what he's talking about.

Liam: So you're saying that the black wolf, which you can change into, wasn't the black wolf that chased me in school. You know, you being the only full wolf in all of California?

Dawn: [holds up a finger] When was this?

Liam: [looks over at them, the tiny puppy of anger] Like, two hours ago. Which, thanks, you totally outted me to Mason as well.

Derek: [hands up] Liam, I haven't left the loft since we got back from dinner.

Dawn: Honestly, Liam, he hasn't. It wasn't him.

Liam: [bouncing a bit, still angry] Who else could it be?

Laura: It's not like it's a skill exclusive to Derek or even our family. It's rare but it happens.

Derek: [looks at his sister] Have you been toying with the sophomores?

Liam: [blinks] Wait... you can do it too?

Laura: [holds up her hands] Not me. Promise.

Liam: But you can do it?

Laura: [hesitates, then nods] In theory.

Liam: Does Scott know?

Laura: No idea, but I haven't told him.

Liam: So what, everyone in your family know how to do this or something?

Laura: Our mom could do it. Peter can't, last I checked, and I don't think Cora can, but Malia lived for eight years as a coyote, so it's kinda genetic?

Derek: Are you telling us that there's someone else who can shift fully in town?

Liam: Unless someone brought a real wolf to the city, yeah.

Laura: ... That's new.

Derek: [thinks] I'll have to check with Satomi, see if there are any wolves in her pack that can do that.

Laura: Are there any new wolves in town?

Liam: [nods] Yeah, this kid Theo. Scott and Stiles knew him when they were in fourth grade. [he looked at his feet a moment]

Laura: Seems kinda young for that kind of talent, but we'll check it out.

Liam: Don't tell Scott or Stiles I told you about him, okay? They uh... they're not really in agreement about how they feel about him at the moment.

Laura: [nods] Don't worry about it. We'll let them figure it out.

Derek: If you need someone to talk to, Liam... we're here for you too. Sometimes it's easier to have a person who isn't your alpha to talk to when you're confused about inter pack arguments.

Liam: [bites his lip, then nods] I'll remember that. I should go, but if you find anything out...?

Laura: We'll text you.

Liam: [nods, and he's going to just peace out]

Derek: [after a moment] I'm not sure I like this.

Laura: Neither do I. First Psychos with super claws and now mystery full shifter?

Derek: And hopefully it's not the same creature.

Laura: I don't think so. If it was the first guy, Liam wouldn't have been able to scare him off without getting hurt.

Derek: [rubs his jaw] There hasn't been any sightings of your rave wolf since Scott fended him off.

Laura: Thank God for that.

Derek: I'll go hunt down Satomi in the morning, see what she knows.

Laura: I already put in a call to Peter about rave wolf. I can add any wolves that he remembers who could do what Mom could do.

Derek: [he gives his sister a look like 'you're talking to Peter now?' but nods] Probably a good idea. Maybe we can look at the old lists from the deadpool. See who's higher in price.

Laura: [her eyebrows go up in return] I've been using his laptop to research stuff.

Derek: Like a fireproof humanoid? [smirks a bit]

Laura: [gives him a look] He's starting to get scared. I'm just trying to give him forward motion so we can get a handle on this.

Derek: You know... there's someone we could call in who has a family archive that rivals ours.

Laura: The Prices?

Derek: I haven't talked to Very since I left New York. She's probably going to be pissed.

Laura: Yeah, well - I think now is as good a time as any to take your medicine.

Derek: [rubs his eyes] This isn't going to go well.

Laura: [pats his shoulders] Good luck and Godspeed.

Derek: [gets up and grabs his phone, leaning over to kiss Dawn before heading to the balcony] If I'm not back in ten minutes, bring me a beer.

Dawn: Your wish is my command.

Derek: [and he's going to head out to the balcony, taking a deep breath before pressing the contact that had been stored in his phone for years now]

Verity: [somewhere, on a magical Price family road trip, "Hungry Like the Wolf" starts playing as her ringtone because she's a jerk. She squints, snatches it up, and then places her phone to her ear.] Well, I'll be damned.

Derek: [smirks to himself] Good to hear your voice too, Very.

Verity: Where the hell have you been?

Derek: California. Mostly.

Verity: And you couldn't call?

Derek: It's been a very crazy two years.

Verity: Uh-huh.

Derek: Trust me, the actual explanation needs to have a lot more alcohol between us.

Verity: So if you're not calling to give me an explanation then why are you calling?

Derek: I need your help. And also to invite you out this way.

Verity: We're in Ohio right now. Where is "out this way" exactly?

Derek: Beacon Hills. Though it'll be late fall when you need to be here.... for my wedding. [winces a bit]

Verity: Are you kidding me?!?!?

Derek: Like I said, it's been a crazy two years.

Verity: Who is she? Tell me about her?

Derek: It's Dawn, my best friend from High School. [he talked about her sometimes]

Verity: Awww, that's so cute.

Derek: Yeah, yeah. You'll need to text me your current mailing address for the invite. [which he had been planning on doing for the record] But we could also use your help.

Verity: Hold on putting you on speaker. [some shuffling some clicking and then Verity's voice is a bit louder] Okay, Sarah's listening, just ... don't take it personally if she doesn't talk too much.

Derek: Hi Sarah.

Sarah: [there's a long pit of silence before ...] I thought we were going to watch PBS.

Verity: [sigh] We will. Say hello to Derek.

Sarah: [another beat] Hi, Derek. Hopefully you are still proportional.

Verity: ... That's progress.

Derek: I've changed a bit, but I'm sure you'll still recognize me. [leans back against the balcony] Do either of you know of a creature that looks perfectly human, but would be fireproof and able to come back from the dead after cauterizing their own wounds as a way of healing?

Sarah: Candy.

Verity: Male or female?

Derek: Male.

Verity: Then not a dragon. That's all I got off the top of my head but I could dig through the family records. I take it he can't tell you?

Derek: He's pretty freaked out about it. I've got nothing in my archives and Peter's given Laura a long list of creatures but we need help narrowing it down a bit.

Verity: Okay. What can you tell me about him personality wise?

Derek: He's a cop. Very proper, very young looking for his age. He was in the army for only two years before becoming a cop. He doesn't really talk much about his past beyond that.

Verity: Have you spent a lot of time with him?

Derek: Me, no. Laura..... quite a bit.

Verity: Maybe I should talk to ... [there's a pause. A long pause.] ... Wait, I thought I heard that Laura ...

Derek; Again, crazy two years? Notice I also talked about Peter - my uncle that I thought was dead. OH, and by the way, my baby sister - also not dead.

Verity: Yeah, we need lots of alcohol. I need to hear this entire story.

Derek: I told you.

Verity: Okay, have Laura send me a psychological profile. She knows what we look for. I'll go through the family records and see if we can narrow things down.

Derek: We're going to be sending you a second one too. The deputy was recently attacked by a wolf that he describes as being huge with glowing blue claws.

Verity: .... What?

Derek: Oh, and he felt like the wolf was sucking his soul out with said glowing claws.

Verity: What?

Derek: Welcome to life in Beacon Hills.

Verity: Yeah, send me everything. I'll have a look.

Derek: Will do.

Verity: It's good to hear from you though.

Derek: Same here. I'll try and call more often. And feel free to call me as well.

Verity: I will, now that I know you're alive.

Derek: I try not to die too often.

Verity: See, the phrasing of that sentence alone worries me.

Derek: I will have the first bottle of whiskey ready.

Verity: Perfect. I'll see you then.

Derek: See you then. [and he will hang up and head inside] She wants you to e-mail her a psychological profile of Parrish for her to match against the family records.

Laura: [Dawn had headed back into their bedroom to get some work done there, leaving Laura in the main area with two beers] Her email still the same?

Derek: Yes. Which, by the way, she's glad to hear that the rumors of your death were mistaken.

Laura: I am glad that she was glad. [leans back into the couch]

Derek: [goes to sit down next to her, grabbing one of the beers] That went better than I expected.

Laura: I'm sure she's saving most of the abuse for in person.

Derek: I should probably start practicing my roof running again.

Laura: Wouldn't really look good if you started falling from the sky.

Derek: Been there, done that.

Laura: Definitely.

Derek: Also done it shot with wolfsbane as the reason I fell.

Laura: [squints] Uh-huh.

Derek: That was how I learned Kate was back. The first time.

Laura: Lovely.

Derek: Technically also the second time, but I wasn't on a building that time.

Laura: You need to stay away from psychopaths with guns.

Derek: That's why I'm marrying a nerd with a library. [smirks]

Laura: [shakes her head] How is that wedding coming anyway?

Derek: Wishing I had just gone and hired a wedding planner.

Laura: I'm sure you'll look back with fond memories once it's all over and you're actually married.

Derek: Oh, I'm sure. [sips his beer] You think we should be worried about this new wolf in town?

Laura: Rave wolf? Definitely. I'm not sure about the other one, though.

Derek: Liam mentioned that Scott and Stiles were on different sides in that. The last time those two were opposite each other on an idea, Jennifer nearly killed half the town.

Laura: So who's judgement should we be relying on here?

Derek: [thinks for a moment, then chuckles and shakes his head] Honestly... both. For different reasons.

Laura: [laughs] So we do our own investigating.

Derek: [nods] probably better not to involve Cora just yet. If Scott and Stiles are on opposite sides, Liam is going to automatically follow Scott. So will Kira. Lydia will go with whoever she feels is being rational which with Stiles is always a fifty-fifty bet. He needs someone on his side to keep him balanced.

Laura: [nods] You know them better than I do. I'll follow your lead.

Derek: [nods, then looks at her] So can you still shift fully?

Laura: [plays with her beer for a moment before shrugging] I don't know. I haven't tried since I've been back.

Derek: Want to go out to the preserve and try?

Laura: [shifts awkwardly] I don't know. I mean, I've thought about it but ... [there's the thought of what if she can't anymore and has to go through all of that all over again]

Derek: [looks over at her] You know, I don't remember you going through all those stages to evolve. When did it happen to you?

Laura: A couple years after we got to New York. [she reaches up and scratches at the top of her head for a second] You remember that pack we were scuffling with in Queens.

Derek: Yeah, that pack of Russian mongrels who were trying to force us to join into their smuggling business in return for protection.

Laura: Remember that bad night where they got us out of the apartment, and I was holding them back while you made a break for it, and then the next morning three of their best muscle just ... magically disappeared?

Derek: .... Yeah?

Laura: [points to him with her beer bottle] That was it.

Derek: When were you human?

Laura: When I ... evolved.

Derek: But did you go through stages where you lost your powers slowly?

Laura: Yeah. That ... I can't remember when that started exactly.

Derek: Why didn't you ever tell me about it?

Laura: You had enough you were worrying about and I didn't have any answers as to what was wrong. I was more focused on trying to make sure you felt safe.

Derek: Yeah. Though it may have helped me freak out a bit less, if I had known.

Laura: Sorry. I ... I guess I thought that if it happened for you it would be something I would be here for.

Derek: [shrugs] Well, I made it through. And at least if it happens to Cora, she'll be prepared and have us both around to help.

Laura: [she nods, taking another sip of her beer] Hopefully she won't have to do it for a long, long time.

Derek: Here's hoping.

Laura: [she nods] Fingers crossed.

Derek: So.... midnight run in the preserve?

Laura: [she considers, her lips twitching for a moment, before she closes her eyes and nods. She just hopes it still works]

Derek: Let me just go tell Dawn that we'll be back after a while.

Laura: [nods as she goes to put the beer bottles away]

Derek: [looking into Dawn] Hey - Laura and I are going to take a walk. We'll be back in a few hours.

Dawn: [glances up with a smile] Okay. How long should I wait before I send out a search party?

Derek: [thinks] Dawn. But you can also bring a plate of bacon to the preserve to draw us out. [smirks]

Dawn: [laughs] Got it. I will come bearing breakfast.

Derek: [leaning down to kiss her] Love you.

Dawn: Love you too. Be careful.

Derek: We will. [and he will go and head back to his sister] Shall we?

Laura: [takes a breath and nods] Let's go.

Derek: [and off they go to the preserve]

Laura: [which Laura looks more and more apprehensive the closer she gets to]

Derek: [looks over at her] You know, if you can't do it anymore, it doesn't mean you're any less than you are now.

Laura: That's not it.

Derek: Then what is it?

Laura: I earned it. It's not like that's something we were just given, you know? [and if they take that away, does that mean that by dying she failed to uphold that standard somehow? That she negated the reason she was allowed to do it in the first place.] If it were gone, then ... I don't know.

Derek: If it's gone, we will figure out what to do next. But if it's not...

Laura: If it's not, it's good.

Derek: I need someone to teach me either way.

Laura: [she glances up at him and nods] I know.

Derek: [he looked over and took her hand in his. He just squeezed it tightly]

Laura: [she squeezes it back and turns her attention back to their walk again]

Derek: [and it isn't long before they are in the preserve, deep enough that they are far from sight. He takes a deep breath, and then focusing on the sounds.] We're alone here.

Laura: [nods and she'll move over to some tree cover, shedding her jacket first] In an effort to not ruin my clothes, should this work.

Derek: [nods, and he turns to look away from his sister as he goes to pull off his shirt and boots.] Good plan. [but he won't strip fully until they know if she can or not]

Laura: [she leaves her clothes folded in a pile next to a tree, hopefully where they'll be safe in the event of people stumbling over them. She then moves to sit on the ground for the moment and just relax and close her eyes. The instinct doesn't come as easily as it used to - when she first figured out she could do it, she did it all the time, going through runs in Central Park at night and just reveling in the liberation of it. but ever since she came back, everything about her wolf had seemed so much farther away. While the strength and the senses and the healing even came back, this? This she wasn't sure she wanted to test the limits of.

She tries not to think about that, however, how she could almost smell her blood in the ground here and how this place is the place where she died, and tries to think about watching her mom do this. How Laura was always there to help her prepare before going to summits ("Because you'll have to do this too one day." only she didn't. she couldn't. She couldn't bring people together any more than Derek could). The way her mother just slipped into wolf form so naturally, almost as though she was slipping on one of her favorite print dresses. She would take the moment, in the quiet and calm and the presence of her daughter and Laura tries to draw on that calm to help her here, to breathe the nerves away and hopefully push her forward into that shift.

At first, it doesn't feel like anything's happening. Then something in her body lurches and she lets out a cry of surprise - she doesn't remember feeling it quite as much but she supposes in some way that makes sense]

Derek: [He hears the cry and he turns, keeping the tree from seeing his sister's naked body but worried just the same] Laura?

Laura: It's not - I'm fine. [sort of. It's not as though there's something wrong, it's more like stretching muscles that haven't been used in a while. She shifts to her hands and knees, eyes glowing gold for a moment, before she closes her eyes and rolls her shoulders feeling her muscles and bones start to stretch and shift]

Derek: [he nodded, closing his eyes though and moving to the tree, pressing his back to it and being close, hoping the proximity would give her comfort through the pain]

Laura: [it doesn't take much longer after that, the shift pressing through as her body remembers how it's supposed to work again, and eventually she finishes with a snuffle and shakes herself out, giving it all a moment to sink in]

Derek: [he hears the snuffing and opens his eyes, a small smile before he moved to peak around behind the tree]

Laura: [and there she is, in all her scruffy glory. She glances up at him when she hears him coming around the tree and there's a gold flash of her eyes before she turns and takes off into the trees. You're it, Derek.]

Derek: [grins, shucking his clothes quickly. It still hurts, the shift needing a lot of concentration and focus, but once he's in his wolf form, he lets out a yip to accept the challenge and takes off after his sister]

Laura: [running on the preserve is a lot better than running in Central Park. There's less need to hide and more room to just flat out run. It feels good to be running like this again and she'll just run as hard as she can at first, before darting between the trees and looking for more of a place to hide]

Derek: [meanwhile, he's using this to help hone his senses in this shape. Focusing on Laura's scent. The sound of her paws on the ground. and it isn't long before he catches her and pounces]

Laura: [there's an undignified squeak as he catches her, rolling slightly under the bulk of his weight so that she was on her belly and snapping up at him playfully in response.]

Derek: [he paws at her nose playfully. Tag, you're it. and he's off]

Laura: [she rolls to her feet not long after and chases after him, using the falls and rises of the reserve that she knows well to try and get the upper hand]

Derek: [he's listening, trying to make sure he can keep track of her behind him. He knows this preserve just as well, including the changes that had happened in the last few years while he had been living in the city.]

Laura: [those she doesn't know as well, but all she needs is one good rock ridge before she leaps from above, dropping down on his back with a yip]

Derek: [oof! Down he goes on his stomach, whining as he tries to get out from under her]

Laura: [she rolls off easily onto her stomach, letting her tongue loll out in a canine grin for a moment before she repeats the gesture, tapping her paw against his nose and then taking off into the woods again]

Derek: [and werewolf tag is a go until he's nice and exhausted and just flops into a pile of leaves with a huff]

Laura: [will drop down next to him, nuzzling her nose against his shoulders a bit]

Derek: [nuzzles back, curling up around his sister because it's totally nap time now, right?]

Laura: [yep. Nap is good. She could go with a nap. And they will probably stay there until Dawn comes and brings them breakfast]

Derek: [and Dawn will get greeted by not just one, but two Hale wolves.]

Dawn: [which she will not mind, and also collect their clothes before she comes out to wave bacon under their noses]

Derek: [and he will look up, blue eyes flashing before he gives her a doggy grin and licks her hand]

Dawn: [she grins at that, brushing a hand over the top of his head] Morning to you too.

Derek: [and he's going to nuzzle her hand a bit, and then nose his sister to wake her up]

Laura: [her ears ruffle as she pushes herself up, coming over and nosing towards the smell of bacon, which has Dawn getting up and pulling away]

Dawn: Uh-uh. You get bacon when you've got a people-shaped stomach again.

Derek: [and that's a whimpering, whining boyfriend real puppy face looking at you]

Dawn: [shakes her head] Nope. I'm not dealing with sick wolves.

Laura: [takes her clothes gently in her teeth and goes behind a tree to shift back again]

Derek: [and since Laura moved off, Derek is going to focus on shifting back. It's not as easy as the first time, but better than the second. He's just stiff and groaning as he comes back to human shape, reaching for his shorts first to get them on quickly]

Dawn: [smiles as he turns back and opens the styrofoam container, holding it out to him] How'd the run go?

Derek: [grins, looking up at her as he stretched out his arms.] Good. Real good. [he hasn't felt that young and free in a while now]

Dawn: Good. I'm glad.

Laura: [there's a matching groan from Laura but she doesn't appear until she's fully dressed again, cracking her back as she does] Ow.

Derek: You can shower when you get home. It helps. [smiles at his sister]

Laura: Yeah, I remember. [makes her way closes and reaches over to take the container from Dawn] Gimme bacon.

Derek: [he'll let his sister eat first, pulling Dawn down into his lap and kissing her] How's that for a proper good morning?

Dawn: [hums softly into the kiss, grinning as she leans into him] Much better.

Derek: Good. [and nope, long enough. He's going to reach over for some bacon. The protein helps with the edge of the shift]

Laura: [tips the box over to share, licking the grease off her fingers before she reaches for her phone to check and see if she had any texts]

Parrish: [and there was a late night text of "hey, can you bring me coffee if you're awake" from 3am.]

Laura: No but I can bring you breakfast now?

Parrish: [is face down in bed, looking at the phone] Sweeping. [auto correct is horrible]

Laura: [she smirks before texting back] I will come sleep with you.

Parrish: :)

Laura: [pockets her phone and hands off the box completely] I'm gonna leave you two in your engaged bliss. I'll see you later.

Derek: Hey Laura?

Laura: Hmmm?

Derek: [there is just a grin. One of a little brother and his love and admiration for his big sister] Good to see you a bit more like yourself again.

Laura: [she smirks back at him, before turning around and waving a hand] See you later.

Derek: [and he's going to just go back to snuggling Dawn]

Parrish: [and he is face down in his bed in just an undershirt and his boxers. But one hand is under his pillow, resting on his gun. He's a bit twitchy since his last death]

Laura: [sheds her jacket when she gets there, and kicks out of her shoes and jeans before climbing into bed next to him slowly, letting one hand rest against his back gently]

Parrish: [his fingers tighten on the gun a moment before he just turns his head to see her] Hey.

Laura: [small smile as she settles next to him, kissing the exposed part of his bicep as she does] Hey.

Parrish: It was a very long shift.

Laura: I'm sorry I couldn't bring you coffee.

Parrish: You turn in early? [rolls onto his side a bit to face her more]

Laura: [shakes her head] Derek and I went for a run in the woods.

Parrish: At three am?

Laura: We had tails at the time.

Parrish: [blinks, waking up a bit] Wait, you can... you can do that too?

Laura: [she nods] I just hadn't really tried since I came back.

Parrish: So what's it like?

Laura: [she gives a small shrug as she rolls onto her back next to him] It's ... liberating. Like I'm in my real skin.

Parrish: [and he's going to roll half on top of her, his arm going across her waist as his head went to rest on her chest] Sounds wonderful.

Laura: [smiles a bit, running her hand over the back of his head] Yeah, it is.

Parrish: Knowing what you are. Being free to embrace it. [he's drifting off to sleep] Maybe I'll have that one day.

Laura: [presses a kiss to the top of his head] I know you will.

Parrish: [and he's going to just... fall back asleep, holding her close]

Laura: [stays close, drifting off not long after herself]